Beyond the Mutation
by Mily
Summary: What happens when two crazy authors decide to write a fic about X-Men and TMNT?! You get THIS! Yay! We finally updated! chapter 2 up!
1. Training

Ok! Joint fic with Daydream! She's gonna write the next chapter! She helped write this one too! So credit her too! This is my X-Men/TMNT fic, it's kinda an author fic but I'm not accepting people because I've already asked them... so please do not ask because I will be forced to say no... and it will pain me to do so... ^-^ so please enjoy!  
  
This fic is loosely based on the tv show and the movie because Jean Grey is still there and Nightcrawler's a teenage guy and Iceman's in it.  
  
Ok! For future reference...  
  
Me: Meira or Silverwing  
  
Ziptango: Tricity  
  
Danceingfae: Dyna or Dynamite  
  
Raphaella: same name, last name Tei, alias Spark  
  
Arista Niara: Animalia  
  
Daydream: Dec (pronounced deek) or Sunbeam  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own, TMNT, X-Men, or Danceingfae, Raphaella, Arista, Daydream or Ziptango! But I own myself! Ha ha!  
  
Beyond the Mutation  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Tric... Tricity...this is your conscience speakin'…yes, ya hava happy conscience…I'm tellin' ya in a very consciencey way ta WAKE UP!!!!!!" A bouncy dirty-blonde haired Dec screamed into her friend's poor, abused ear.   
  
"We have training! You gotta go with Raphaella! And you're late!" She explained all of this in a perky voice as she jumped up and began to bounce on the bed, using her powers to make the small, dark blue-painted room light up like a Christmas tree.  
  
Tricity opened one eye and peeked at the smiley face and sighed "Go away Dec, I'm not going today..." she moaned and turned over. Definitely not going! She covered her head with a Gundam Wing pillow, willing the girl to be gone.  
  
Dec thought for a moment and then an evil grin crossed her lips. "Ok... hope you're ready for THIS!" The shorter girl began vigorously tickling the unsuspecting Tricity.  
  
"EEE! AHHHH! OK! I'm up! I'm up!" Older, darker haired girl shrieked and ambled out of bed, towards the bathroom. Why couldn't her roommate leave her alone in the morning? All she wanted was a little sleep, was that so much to ask for? Squirting a mound of toothpaste onto her toothbrush, Tricity poked her head back out of the bathroom. There was Dec, rearranging the stuffed animals on her bed. Rolling her eyes, Tricity turned back around and closed the bathroom door. Grinning, she locked it.  
  
"TRICITY!!!! WOULD YA HURRY IT UP ALREADY?!!?" Dec yelled, banging on the bathroom door ten minutes later. Tricity allowed an evil look to grace her face as she electrified the door. She heard Dec's yelp of irritation. The voltage wasn't enough to injure the younger girl, but maybe it'd keep her from annoying Tricity.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Meira! Come on!" shouted Animalia from the hallway outside of their room. Times, did it take this long to fix hair? "We can't keep the others waiting!" She leaned against the wall, agitated. 'Hurry up…'  
  
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" replied the younger girl of 16 as she emerged from their room, blonde hair done up perfectly. Animalia smirked as a thought popped into her head.  
  
"Oh look Meira, a cowlick!" she fake-gasped and pointed at her friend's hair. Meira shook her head.  
  
"No way, Ani, I checked and it's perfectly straight!" she stated, a grin on her face. Animalia gave a laugh.  
  
"Just come on." She pulled Meira after her, towards Tricity and Dec's room. Reaching it, the two girls noticed the large amount of yelling from within.  
  
"That's my hair dinky!"  
  
"Whatever! This one's blue, which means it's mine!"  
  
"My hair has blue streaks!"  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?!"  
  
"I DON'T KNOW, YA OVERGROWN LIGHTSOCKET!!!!"  
  
"OH, THAT'S IT!!! YOU DIE NOW, DIANA!!!"  
  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!!!"  
  
If you looked down at the bottom of the door, you'd notice that flashes of light and electricity were exploding from the room. Animalia and Meira exchanged worried looks. They'd kill each other if left to their own devices. Raphaella Tei trotted over, pulling her red hair into a ponytail as she came. She stopped a few feet away from the other two girls.  
  
"Let me guess, power fight?" she asked, a grin on her face. Meira nodded and sighed.  
  
"Yep and if they get in trouble, it isn't our fault." She stated, glancing towards the door when a loud thumping sound, like a body hitting a wall, was heard.  
  
"Hopefully, this one will end up better than the last time." Animalia stated, remembering the last fight the two girls had had. Tricity had been in the infirmary for a few days with a terrible sunburn, while Dec's hair   
  
had stood on end for a week. Not wanting that to happen again, Animalia knocked on the door.  
  
"Tric, Dec, come on! Practice time!" she shouted through the door. Muffled sounds were heard and then the door flew open, allowing Dec and Tricity to come out. Tricity was holding her boots while Dec glared at her, blue hair   
  
streaks turning a dark, stormy blue.  
  
"Morning!" Dec exclaimed, glare vanishing when she saw the rest of her friends.  
  
"Yeah, at least we think it's morning." Raphaella said, looking at the window. It was sunny outside and classes were always held outside on nice days. The group of five moved down the hall, storming the kitchen to get a bite to eat. After getting a few munchies, the group migrated from the kitchen to the stairs. Looking around, Meira noticed that they were missing someone.  
  
"Hey, where's Dynamite?" She asked. The five glances around, trying to figure out where their friend was. She was spotted in the living room, seemingly looking around for them.  
  
"Dyna! We're over here! Let's go!" yelled Tricity pulling on her boots to her blue, black and silver uniform. The oldest girl looked over and grinned.  
  
"I was wondering where you had gotten to." She stated, walking over. Raphaella took a quick look at her watch and let out a yelp.  
  
"Yo! We're sooo LATE! Scott's gonna kill us!!" she yelled, racing for the door. The six girls ran all the way outside for their training and were met by a not-so-pleased Scott.  
  
"Late, again. That's the fifth time this week, try better next time, I guess..." he sighed, knowing that it would be the same no matter what. They could be so annoying!  
  
"Yes sir..." they all chimed monotonously. Man, he could be so boring!  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Everyone went to their assigned mentors. Tricity and Raphaella went with Storm to control their electric powers. The trio sauntered towards a vacated part of the lawn so as not to harm anyone with their unpredictable powers.  
  
Dyna and Dec went with Scott or better known as Cyclops to control their beams. Dyna talked easily with the older mutant while Dec trudged along behind them, looking around for an escape.  
  
Meira went with Jean Grey to practice her flying, something the young mutant wasn't the best at. Jean was trying to get her to fly well, but it was increasingly difficult.  
  
Animalia was teaching younger mutants how to shapeshift properly. She took her young ward and went to a secluded, calm part of the lawn where her pupil could meditate on the task before her.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Ok, Meira you're gonna fly today I know it!" said Jean, confident in the young girl. She -had- to fly, that was her power!  
  
Meira took a deep breath and sighed. 'Concentrate... concentrate...' she focused on her wings and her pure white wings emerged from her back. Glossy feathers shone in the morning sun.  
  
"Ok! That's step number one. You're doing great! Now climb atop the platform." urged Jean. 'She's finally going to do it!' she thought to herself, willing it to be true.  
  
"Ok, Jean! I can do this..." said Meira and climbed up the ladder. "I'm scared!" she whimpered, staying in the middle of the platform.  
  
"Don't be afraid, if you fall, I'll catch you, right?" she reassured the young mutant. 'Use those wings, that's what they're there for!'  
  
Meira gulped and closed her eyes. "Right... 1... 2... 3!!" She jumped and flapped her wings as hard as she could.  
  
"You're doing it! But you gotta open your eyes!" yelled Jean, worried and happy at the same time. 'Finally!'  
  
Meira opened her eyes and panicked. "Agh! Help!" she screeched and began to plummet.  
  
Jean quickly used her telekinesis to catch the girl and float her safely to the ground.  
  
"I... almost did it..." sighed Meira.  
  
Jean patted her on the shoulder. "We'll get it tomorrow..." She sighed and then looked around the lawn to where Storm was –trying- to teach the electric girls how to harness energy. Not going very well…  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Tricity and Raphaella both had electric mutant powers. Tricity could generate electricity and shoot beams and electrocute stuff but sometimes it got out of hand. Raphaella could generate electric forcefields around herself and shock people with static electricity. Storm was teaching them how to control their powers.  
  
"Ok Tricity, concentrate the electricity into a ball, you too Raphaella." said Storm with a lightning ball in her hand, trying to demonstrate for the girls.  
  
Tricity and Raphaella both concentrated hard and focused their energy into their hands.  
  
"Hey! Look!" said Raphaella holding up her hand where a small electric ball had formed and was getting bigger. 'This is so COOL!' she thought happily, watching the ball enlarge.  
  
Tricity had a similar ball, but it was a little bigger. "Hey! Me too!" she smiled, pouring extra energy into it. 'Wonder how big it can get? Maybe I'll throw it at Dec.' Tricity grinned, looking around for the younger mutant.  
  
"Good! Now stop absorbing electricity." said Storm as the energy orbs got to a certain size.  
  
"Uh... I can't!" said Tricity, eyes growing huge. "It's getting too big!" she yelped, trying to stop the flow.  
  
"Quick! Throw it to the lightning rod!" said Storm, pointing to the well placed device. "You too Spark!"  
  
Both girls threw their electricity balls at the lighting rod. The electricity quickly dispersed into the ground.  
  
"We'll have to work on that." said Storm with a slight laugh. "Time for a break!" she announced, grabbing a cooler of lemonade. Tric and Raph followed her example.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Meanwhile Scott was having a tough time with Dyna and Dec, the Double D's of Doom, as they were called. Dyna's power was flying without wings and she could shoot beams. Dec had the power of sunlight and constantly glowed.  
  
"Ok Dynamite, aim your fists at the target. Sunbeam you too." said Scott standing in between the two targets. 'You know, this isn't a really good place to be standing…'  
  
"But what if I hit you?" asked a nervous Dyna. She wouldn't hurt a friend for the world, much less, a teacher.  
  
"Here goes nothin'!" shouted the excited DEC as she transferred sunlight to her hands and shot it at the target. It swerved sideways and barely missed Scott. She turned an embarrassed red and her blue highlights turned a purple color.  
  
"Sorry, dude!" She called.  
  
Dyna accidentally shut her eyes at the wrong moment when she shot her beam, causing the beam to fly towards the mansion. Scott had to counteract it with his optic beams.  
  
"Ok, number one, ALWAYS keep your eyes open." he said looking at Dyna sternly. "And always think things through first." He finished looking at Dec the same way.  
  
"Yes, sir!" they both said, grinning childishly at each other.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
After viewing the energy beam crisis, Animalia continued her lesson to teach a young mutant girl called Sally how to shapeshift into a simple cat.  
  
"Sally, just concentrate on a cat, any cat." she said calmly. Times, the girl could be so hardheaded.  
  
"Even Garfield?" Sally asked hopefully. Garfield was her favorite cartoon in the Sunday News.  
  
"No, not that cat, it's not real." sighed Animalia, ready to give up. Sally was taxing.  
  
"Ok, I'll be my kitty then." Sally stated and concentrated until her head hurt. "It's not working…" She got an agitated look on her little face.  
  
"Here, I'll show you." said Animalia and easily shapeshifted into a cat and then shapeshifted back just as easily."Now you try it."  
  
Sally concentrated so hard that she shapeshifted into a mouse and dashed away. She raced past mentors and pupils, squeaking her mousey head off.  
  
"Sally! No!" cried Animalia, running after the little thing. "Don't step on anything! You'll crush my pupil!" she yelled causing everyone to freeze instantly.  
  
Professor Xavier saw the whole fiasco from his office and mentally calmed down the frightened thing. [[You're alright. Now, I know and you know you can change yourself back.]]  
  
Sally suddenly became herself again just as her teacher caught up with her.  
  
"Don't ever do that again! You almost got killed! The lesson for today is over and no more outside lessons." scolded Animalia, a concerned and angry look on her face. Why this girl?!  
  
"Yes Ma-am..." said Sally sadly looking at her feet and went back in the mansion. 'Maybe it'd better to morph Garfield next time…'  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Afterwards, Animalia ran her hands through her hair and gave a sigh of relief. "That girl is going to be the death of me... why did you want me to teach her Professor?" she asked exasperatedly as she walked into Dr. X's   
  
office and flopped down into a chair.  
  
The professor thought for a moment. "You already know." he spoke with an air of calmness. "I gave her to you because believe it or not, you were the very same way when you first came to us."  
  
Animalia didn't want to think about that, instead she left silently and went to the kitchen to get some lunch.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
At the lair of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as usual Raphael was off on his own, Michelangelo was calling for pizza, Donatello was in his laboratory, and Leonardo was meditating. Don't they ever do anything else?  
  
"Yeah, extra cheese, pepperoni, pretty much everything ya got, but no anchovies, if I find one anchovy you'll lose for best customer." said the turtle with the orange bandana to the phone.  
  
"Mikey! Don't forget! I want a meat lovers!" yelled Donatello from his lab, mixing a blue chemical with a pink one. A mini explosion knocked Leo from his trance.  
  
"Kay! Leo what about you?" yelled Mikey, causing the pizza delivery guy to shrink back from the phone.  
  
"Just mushrooms!" yelled the turtle with the blue bandana, trying to go back to meditating.  
  
"Raph! Raph! What about you? Aw, he's not here, his loss! Ok pizza delivery dude, deliver it to the corner of Eastman and Laird got that? Bye!" said Mikey and went to go wait in the garage.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Raphael was walking the busy night streets of NYC when he saw a mugger take a lady's handbag. "Aw, crap." he muttered, snatching the sais from his brown belt. "Every time I help these poor sods the same thing happens."  
  
He quickly ran down the thief and returned the lady's purse. But when she saw him come into the light she screamed. "AAAHHHH!! Get away from me you... you mutant!"  
  
Raphael sighed heavily as he watched the woman run away, screaming. This happened every time he helped humans, the only ones who didn't care about his appearance were April, Shadow and Casey. "Why can't we be accepted?" he asked himself for the millionth time. Sighing again, the turtle in red turned around and walked back towards the lair, his mind fixed on his unanswered question. 


	2. Mission

YAY!! Daydream finally came through with a new chapter! so, Yay, her!  
  
Chapter 2: Mission  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Ninja Turtles and neither does Mily. We are turtleless. It is sad, but we will get over it. Oh, we are also X-menless too. It is a sad, sad world. ^_^  
  
[[ ]]= Xavier telepathy  
  
:: ::= Meira telepathy  
  
^^ ^^= Animalia telepathy  
  
;; ;;= Tricity telepathy  
  
= Raphaella telepathy  
  
~~ ~~= Dynamite telepathy  
  
{{ }}= Dec telepathy  
  
~~~~~~~A few hours later~~~~~  
  
"Okay, patrol time." Leo announced to the other three turtles who groaned loudly.  
  
"But we just ate, we should wait for like an hour or 24, right Donny?" said Mikey trying to think up an excuse. Donny nodded.  
  
"Yeah, something like that." He agreed. Donatello had a new project he was working on and he didn't want to leave it. Leo sighed.  
  
"That's for water." Leo stated. This wasn't going to be easy. Raphael, who had arrived around the same time as the pizza did, wasn't in the mood for patrol and he was making it known by blankly ignoring anything Leo said.  
  
"Come on guys, it's only for a few hours. And Sensei said we need to keep up our skills." Leonardo half-begged, half-ordered.   
  
Mikey pulled out the PlayStation 2 controls, dead-set on beating his newest game, Shinobi(A/N: go figure, it's a real game! ^_^).Donny edged out of the main room towards his work station. Raph had already disappeared to his own room. Leo gave another sigh and sat down on the couch. Well, he didn't really feel like it tonight either, he decided as he turned on one of the many TV's. The only thing on worth watching was Monster Garage on TLC. This brought Raph and Donny back into the living room. Monster Garage was a very popular show in the turtle family. The episode that was on tonight was about a group of people turning a Mac truck into a helicopter pad. Donny watched with excited eyes. 'That'd be so cool.' He thought, his mind whirling with ideas.   
  
After Monster Garage went off, American Choppers, Raph's personal favorite show, came on. They sat there munching popcorn, every once in a while laughing at something stupid that happened or making comments about the design of a particularly nice motorcycle. When the digital clock on the TV buzzed that it was two in   
  
the morning, all four turtles jumped up and raced towards their rooms. If Master Splinter found out that they had shirked their responsibilities and not gone on patrol, they were going to be in for a rough day. Slipping into   
  
bed, each wondered what would be their punishment.  
  
In the dismal black of the sewers, a single man leaned against the wall. There was a sinister air about him, curling around him as if a death shroud. He stood there, waiting like a panther to pounce on its prey. His clothing   
  
consisted only of a black shirt and a pair of black jeans. Limp black hair framed his eerily white face, as if he had not seen sunlight in ages. Turning his head, it was suddenly easy to tell that he was probably in his late teens or early twenties. As the lights in the turtle lair finally blinked out, his thin lips curled into a smirk. He erected himself from the wall and headed towards the lair.  
  
Smiling to himself, he noted that there was no real defense on the place, as these mutants thought that no one could find them, that no one knew where they where. He crossed the lair and looked around. His gaze pierced the wall of the train cars, seeing the sleeping forms within them. Sneering at their naïve behavior, he sat down upon the couch and went over his mental instructions once again. First, find the lair of the Teenage Mutant Ninja   
  
Turtles. Done, and rather easily too. Second, kill the five mutants that lived there and leave their bodies. About to be accomplished. Third, tell a news station about the mutants. Will do. Forth, go to Xavier's school, tell them about the murders, and then threaten them with the same fate if they do not join The Cause. Looking forward to that one. He rose from the couch in a one fluid motion. Licking his pointed teeth, he advanced towards the first   
  
room, the one with the most power coming from it. Within it was a mutant rat. Not usually his preferred taste, but that didn't matter. It was still blood. The door before him slid open with a touch from his mind. His body wanted the blood, he had to have it. He needed it… Crossing the floor, the vampire mutant was drawn to the place the old rat slept…  
  
~~~~~ Earlier at Xavier's~~~~~  
  
"WATCH OUT!!" screamed Animalia as a fire ball went flying towards Raphaella. The girl shrieked and flung an energy ball at it. Both of the orbs exploded, showering the group of young mutants below with sparks and   
  
embers.   
  
They were back outside, trying to improve their skills. A seventeen year old mutant with fire abilities named Kevin was trying to help by pretending to be the villain. Ani was supervising along with Dynamite. The two older mutants exchanged worried looks. The shots kept getting closer and the younger girls didn't seem to be getting much better. Meira jumped out of the way of a stream of fire.  
  
"Gosh Kevin, try to kill us, why don't you?!" she yelled. Kevin shrugged.  
  
"That's exactly what other people will try to do, Meira." He answered in a knowing tone. Kevin had been in a few fights himself and wanted them to be prepared. Meanwhile, Tricity was trying a sneak attack, coming up behind him while preparing to launch a stunner energy orb at him. The object of the battle game was to neutralize your opponent so he or she could no longer fight. It was a tactic used to capture enemy mutants and humans or to control a new mutant who was endangering others. Tricity was about five feet away when Kevin whirled around, flinging a fire ball at her. The electric mutant was forced to leap away, her energy orb completely missing its   
  
target. It went flying across the field, almost striking an innocent Nightcrawler who was making his way over to them quickly. He teleported out of the way and appeared next to Animalia who sighed.  
  
"Sorry about that, Kurt." She sighed, throwing a disapproving look at Tric who glared at Kevin who, in turn, shrugged. Kurt shook his head.  
  
Meira's face lit up as she saw the furry blue elf approach them. "Eeee!! Hi Kurt!!" she said and gave him a quick hug.  
  
He gave a slight blush and greeted everyone. "Hi Meira, Hi everyone, Don't be sorry. I'm fine."  
  
"I swear, one of these days SOMEONE is going to get fried to a crisp." said Dyna in a dissapproving tone.  
  
Kurt suddenly remembered proceeded with his message"Ah! Dhere is trouble, the Provesser needs you right avay." He said in a rushed, well-accented voice.  
  
"What does he need her for?" asked Dyna, raising an eyebrow. Kurt shook his head.  
  
"No, he needs all of you except Kevin. He can go back to his room." He answered, nodding towards the battle group. Kevin sighed.  
  
"Later girls." He headed back to the mansion towards his room. The fire mutant had been grounded the previous week for staying out past curfew and this was his first time out except for classes since then.   
  
The girls stared at each other, eyes huge. What had they done now? Dec and Raphaella glanced at each other, remembering a prank involving Krazy Glue they had pulled last night. Had he found out? The six girls followed Nightcrawler back up to the mansion and into the Professor's office. Xavier was sitting in his wheelchair behind his desk with a worried look in his usually calm eyes. The some of the young mutants sat down in the provided chairs while a couple of them leaned against the bookcases. Kurt stayed where he was near the door with Meria beside him.  
  
"Girls, I have called you here because there is a threat to a small group of mutants in the city," Xavier said bluntly, catching the girls offguard. "We need the six of you to go and intercept the threat before it reaches its target. Do you understand?" Six very confused faces met his.  
  
"But we ain't X-men!" blurted Dec, relieved that this wasn't about last night, but worried about what this might mean.  
  
"Yes, Diana, I know. You see, the X-men have left on their own private mission. I cannot contact them for some reason and you and your friends have some of the most promising powers in the school." Xavier stated calmly. He was going to be putting six of his students in harms way. Not what a headmaster of a school normally did, but this was necessary. He had to trust them to rely on their training and use their powers wisely.  
  
Dec blushed at her real name but was too surprised to care. "Not happening! this is SO not happening!" she said.  
  
"But, they are only children!" Nightcrawler exclaimed, a slight bit of disbelief in his voice. Charles Xavier couldn't, wouldn't, send children into a battle, would he? Dynamite, Animalia, and Tricity raised themselves   
  
slightly and glared at him.  
  
"We are not! We are young women and three of us are legal adults, thank you!" Tricity replied sharply.  
  
"And the rest of us are just as capable as them!" Raphaella added. Meira and Dec nodded in accordance.  
  
"Hey! Plus, I'm the same age as you Kurt!" said Meira and stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"And besides, I'm twenty-two, old enough to be part of the real X-team." Dyna said and then looked over at Xavier who was giving the group a sad look.  
  
"Some of them are young, Kurt, but their abilities are numerous. They deserve a chance to show their potential, all of my students do." Xavier told the blue-skinned mutant and then looked directly into Dynamite's eyes.  
  
"As the oldest, you are in charge. They," he motioned to her five friends, "will listen to you." He said it as if it was a simple statement.  
  
A sudden realization struck Dyna. As leader, it would be up to her to make decisions, to be the deciding factor. Everything would be on her shoulders; if they failed, everyone would blame her. If someone was injured, it would be her responsibility to take care of them. As she went over her duties as leader, five warm, reassuring minds connected with hers. All five minds began worry, wondering what was going on. A calm, soothing voice entered   
  
into each of the girls thoughts.  
  
[[I have connected you to each other. I hope you don't mind, but this makes it easier during a battle to give out orders and alert one another to on coming attacks. It might take some getting used to, but whenever you want   
  
some quiet time you can virtually build a telepathic wall around yourselves. These connections will last as long as each of you are alive. I do not think you will find it a hindrance, but maybe it will give you six a even deeper   
  
friendship.]] Xavier's mind voice told them. Right after his voice stopped talking, a happy, extremely loud mental voice broke everyone's concentration.  
  
{{DUDE! MIND TALK!}} Dec exclaimed in her naturally perky way.  
  
::OW! Dec, that HURT!:: yelped Meira, clutching her ears. Xavier shook his head at Dec.  
  
[[You do not need to shout, they can hear you.]] he told her. She nodded, blushing slightly.  
  
{{Sorry y'all.}}  
  
~~It's okay, we forgive you.~~ Dynamite said.  
  
;;Speak for yourself!;; Tricity growled. Raphaella laughed, her mental voice happy.  
  
Oh come on, Tric. You know you don't care.  
  
;;I do too!;; Tric stated, though it didn't sound sincere.  
  
Do not.  
  
;;Do too!;;  
  
^^No fighting! Especially in our own heads!^^ Animalia ordered, a scowl on her face. Xavier, who could hear everything, sighed. Maybe that hadn't been such a good idea. Well, there was no going back now. Nightcrawler was very confused since he couldn't hear any of their mental conversation. All he could see was the looks that appeared on their faces.  
  
"I'm going to send the coordinates of where the mutant group lives to the computer in the van." All six girls groaned.  
  
"But Professor, can't we take the Blackbird?" Meira asked, wanting to take the stealthy, black jet for a spin. Xavier shook his head.  
  
"No, the X-Men are using it at the moment, plus I've seen your latest driving routines." He replied. Meira stuck a disappointed look on her face.  
  
"Do we –have- to take the van? Can't we take something a little cooler?" Raphaella half-complained. The van was so…so ugh. Xavier, once again, shook his head.  
  
"No, you are taking the van because you are picking up five extra passengers." He told her, almost exasperated with the girls. Did they have to ask so many questions?  
  
"Professor? What exactly do these mutants look like?" Animalia asked. She had been quiet for most of the briefing, mainly to formulate some questions of her own.  
  
"Yeah, and where do they live?" asked Tricity. She had been doing the same thing.  
  
"Are they guys?" Meira asked, a grin on her face. Her companions looked at her strangely.  
  
::What, it's a good question!!::  
  
~~Sure…~~  
  
::It is!!::  
  
"This is what the mutants look like." Xavier said, closing his eyes and sending each girl a mental picture of four humanoid turtles. They were tall and muscular, each with a different bandanna on. Beside them stood an elderly looking rat holding a walking stick.  
  
I think that answers your question, Ani.  
  
^^So, THAT'S what they look like?^^  
  
[[Yes, Animalia. They are different then most at this school. They live here.]] Another very detailed picture entered into the girls mind eyes. An old subway station it seemed, but it had been renovated. A bunch of stacked TV's sat in one corner, a couch and a couple of floor pillows were placed in front of it. A wooden table piled with mechanical objects was placed in a secluded area.  
  
::They live in the sewers? Ick…::  
  
;;Do you see all those TV's?! How can they watch that many channels at one time?;;  
  
~~I only see one entrance, the one leading to the sewers.~~  
  
^^No, there's two, I think. The other one's those doors in the corner. I think it might be a way out.^^  
  
{{Looks like a couple of doors ta me…}}  
  
Me too, nothing special about them.  
  
[[They are the entrance to an elevator that leads into the turtles' garage.]] Xavier's level voice stated. Ani gave what might have been a mental told-you-so feeling to the other girls. Sighing, Xavier looked at each of them in turn.  
  
"This is your first mission as X-Men. Your uniforms are in the armor room. The mission is simple enough and I don't believe you will have that much trouble. Do be careful, the mutant you are dealing with is dangerous." At   
  
this, he sent them another picture of a tall, lanky boy with zombie white skin and eyes as black as the depths of the sea. He had no pupils; both eyes were completely black.   
  
Dec cringed. "he's really freaky... is he some sort of... Vampire?"  
  
"Yes, He is a vampire, a telekinetic one to be exact. Once you have stopped him, bring the turtle mutants and the rat mutant back here please. I don't believe they will resist after you tell them about the school." Xavier told them.   
  
The girls nodded solemnly. This wasn't the Danger Room or a controlled mission. This was real.  
  
"Is Kurt going with us?" Tricity asked, glancing at the blue-skinned mutant who was standing by the door.  
  
"No, I need him to stay here." Xavier replied sullenly. Tricity nodded. So they would be alone.  
  
~~Not alone, we'll all be together.~~ Dyna's quiet mental voice reassured her.  
  
;;No, I meant…hey wait, I didn't say anything!;; Tricity looked over to the older girl who shrugged.  
  
~~You think too loud.~~ Dynamite's voice had a tinge of amusement to it. Tricity crossed her arms and brought a wall up around her thoughts. 'Try to get through that.' She thought to herself. Dyna didn't say anything, but smiled to herself. It seemed that the Professor had given her a telepathic edge on the others. Her telepathy was stronger and she could hear almost everything they thought about.  
  
"You may leave now. Be careful." He looked into each pair of eyes, sending them a bit of his strength. The girls left, each a little apprehensive about what they were about to do.   
  
"Bye Kurt... bye Professor." said Meira a little nervously. Some of the other girls murmered goodbyes as well.  
  
"I have faith in you girls, you'll be alright." said Xavier calmly.  
  
They headed down the hallway to the armor room. There they suited up into their individual uniforms. Tricity's was black with dark purple stripes up the sides. Meira's was the same black with white/silver stripes with a white cloak like Storm's. Raphaella's uniform was the black with blue stripes. Dynamite's uniform was yet again, black,   
  
this one with red stripes. Dec's was black with yellow stripes. Animalia's uniform was the regular black with green stripes up the sides. Each had the well-known X symbol on the chest.  
  
"Wow, this is nice." Animalia stated, stretching around, trying to get the feel of the uniform.  
  
"No kidding, is this leather?" Raphaella asked, picking at one of her stripes.   
  
"Maybe it's PVC!" said Meira happily swishing her cape around. But Tricity shook her head.  
  
"I heard Jean say that the uniforms are made out of a special material. They feel and look like leather, but they're stronger than Kevlar." She relayed the facts off like a computer. Raph nodded and went back to inspecting her form-fitting uniform.   
  
After everyone was suited up, the new team of X-men, or in their case, X-girls, raced over to the garage. Running past the line of sport cars, Cyclop's favorites, they came to a stop at a large, black van. Giving each other exasperated looks, the six piled in, Animalia at the driver's seat. Meira, Dec, and Raphaella sat in the back, chatting about what they would do to stop the vampire mutant.  
  
"Maybe we could blow his head off!" Raphaella put in, a sideways grin on her face. They didn't really want to face the facts that they were going to be fighting another mutant, one that was probably trained to kill. As the van   
  
lurched to a start and headed out of the garage, Dec and Meira sent up a chorus of a much beloved and hated song.  
  
"The wheels on the van go round and round, round and round, round and round! The wheels on the van go round and round all through the city!" They sang, Meira's soprano voice coming across much better than Dec's alto.  
  
"NO! Not that! ANYTHING but that!" Dynamite shouted, turning around and giving the girls a look. Both grinned back, but kept quiet. A few minutes later, though…  
  
{:The mutants in the van go light, power, beams, light, power, beams! The mutants on the bus go light, power, beams, all through the city!:} Both girls sang in unison through their minds. A sudden angry force traveled down   
  
the line.  
  
^^BE QUIET! I'm trying to concentrate and you two are making it very HARD!^^ Both girls sat back in their seats and were quiet for the rest of the trip. 


End file.
